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Trash.She’d say.Spawns from other trash. No self-respect. This is what you will never be, Leo.
But they were happy trash, Leo noted.
Those smiles stretched wide. Their laughter was contagious. He felt his lips tug, wondering what it was like to be so free.
He stopped at the marina office to purchase some candy. The supervisor, Gaby, gave him a bag of treats. “You put that money back in your pocket, Leo,” she said on a smile. “Your father would have my head if I dared charge you.”
Leo wondered what the point of having money was if nobody was going to take it.
It was probably an apt moment to mention George Itani owned most businesses in Brown Bay.
Leo simply nodded in response and shoved his cash back into his tailored slacks. Then he walked out of the office and hurried down the walkway—not so fast that it looked like he was in a rush.Gentlemen never rushed, his father taught him. They strode a little quicker than the pace of a normal stride. Not so much a speed walk, either. His heart couldn’t thump so wildly that he was out of breath.
He turned off the cobblestone path and descended the wooden staircase, landing on the beach below the marina dock. Then he slowed down completely, coming up on the two laughing individuals. He wore his confidence on his sleeve, no matter how fake it was. He had learned to perfect it. Now he slowly moved to their peripheral.
The girl made a gagging sound.
“Then stop eating them,” the boy hissed.
“I’ll stop when you stop eating my popcorn,” she retorted.
Leo took a seat on the rocks next to them, but not so close that it looked like he was with them. He opened his plastic bag of treats and leafed through them, pulling out a block of Lindt chocolate.
“It’s all in your teeth now,” the boy laughed. “You have a liquorice smile, Skye.”
“It’s still a nicer smile than yours.”
“What’s wrong with mine?”
“You’re missing a few teeth, you hillbilly,” she teased.
“They’re taking a lot longer to grow out. So what?”
She just cackled devilishly. “They’re growing in crooked.”
“Liar.”
“They are.”
The boy ran a finger over his front teeth. “The front one is overlapping the other one, you mean.”
“Uh-huh.”
“It’s ugly.”
“No, it’s not. It’s really adorable, Hunter.”
“It’s not.”
“At least you don’t have a gap like mine.”
“Yeah, you can use yours as a hole punch.”
She gasped and he laughed, and shit, Leo laughed too. The sound was so sudden, he didn’t expect it clawing up his throat. His chest rumbled as they turned to gawk at him.
“What’re you laughing at?” the boy hissed, suddenly serious.
Leo shook his head apologetically. “Sorry, that was funny.”
